News Update: March 18, 2014

MARCH 18, 2014

Kermit the Frog made a big-time appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night. He sat in as Jimmy's second guest and then performed "Bein' Green" accompanied by The Roots and Jimmy Fallon. It was a delightful appearance and Kermit was a lot of fun in the interview. Enjoy the videos below!





Miss Piggy stopped by Toronto's CP24 Breakfast show thiorning on her big promotional tour through Canada. Unfortunately, the video cannot be embedded, but you  can watch the fantastic nine minute appearance on the CP24 Breakfast website.

Tina Fey was spotted in Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios theme park a few days ago. Obviously, she stopped by Muppet*Vision 3D. While she was there, she got to hang out with the Muppet*Vision version of Sweetums, and we got this stellar picture:

The Muppets overwhelmed QVC on Sunday, appearing on the network for almost nine hours straight. The appearances were fun and Muppety, but few and far between. However, we got to see Rizzo, Constantine, Bobo, Big Mean Carl, and Link Hogthrob (plus the frog, pig, bear, whatever, and prawn), so it's all worth it. Our friends at ToughPigs.com have collected all of the videos from the appearance in one massive post, and I highly suggest checking it out!

The Swedish Chef and Constantine appeared on ABC's The Chew this morning. The Swedish Chef helped cook some meatballs. Unfortunately, the videos are once again not able to be embedded, but the appearance is hysterical and felt like an old Swedish Chef sketch on The Muppet Show. You've got to check it out. Visit The Chew's website for the two videos.

Constantine is the subject of a great article from The New York Times which also features interviews from James Bobin and Matt Vogel. It's a really insightful article about the creation of the character and goes into detail about some of their difficulties in distinguishing Constantine from Kermit. Give it a read!

Entertainment Weekly has yet another clip from Muppets Most Wanted. In this clip, we see Kermit attempting to break out of the Russian gulag he's trapped in. Unfortunately for the frog, Nadya (Tina Fey), doesn't really like that idea. Watch below (or don't to remain spoiler free):



Muppet fans Ryan Dosier (hey, that's me!), Ryan Roe, and Joe Hennes (both from ToughPigs) were interviewed by The Wall Street Journal for an article profile on Muppet fandom. The article is incredibly well written and I'm so honored and thrilled to be quoted alongside my friends Ryan and Joe. Read the article over on The Wall Street Journal site.

Our amazing friends at ToughPigs.com have organized fan screenings of Muppets Most Wanted in major cities across the United States. If our base wasn't in the middle of nowhere, we would've jumped at the chance to host one of these. But look at all the cities covered: New York City, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Portland, Washington, DC, Dallas, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Chicago, and Phoenix! Incredible. For more information, check out ToughPigs.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Awesome Custom-Made Sweetums Costume

There are a lot of Muppet fans over at Malmey Studios. The fine folks there make custom-made costumes and they are all extremely cool. But by far their coolest (c'mon, we're biased) is their newly finished replica of the Sweetums costume! You've gotta check out the awesome pictures of the costume below. Plus, don't miss their in-depth progress post about building the costume. It's fantastic!

Special thanks to our friend Jeremey Adams at Malmey Studios for letting us showcase the costume!






The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Muppetology 101: Intro to Muppet Monster Cryptozoology, Pt. 1

Ryan Dosier - Oh, finally! Now you students show up to class! I've been here for months teaching to an empty classroom. Where have you been?! What? What's that? The classroom door has been locked for the entire semester? ...The janitor is trying to sabotage me again! For the last time, Hugh, I did NOT steal your broom-handle polish! Sheesh. Anyway, class, welcome back finally. We're here in the middle of October and we've got Halloween on the brain! In class today we're examining the spookiest, scariest of the Muppets: the Muppet monsters! Today's lecture will focus solely on monsters from The Muppet Show and Muppets Tonight with an emphasis on other Muppet monsters next class.

• SWEETUMS
• Primarily performed by RICHARD HUNT (1976-1991) and MATT VOGEL (2008-present)
• Sweetums is perhaps the most popular and well known of the Muppet monsters from The Muppet Show. Although he first appeared in The Frog Prince, it was in The Muppet Show where Sweetums came into his personality. Sweetums became the gentle giant on the show, befriending Robin the Frog in the notable "Two Lost Souls" musical number. However, Sweetums sometimes continued to tap into his scary persona throughout the show as well, such as when he, masquerading as Short John Silver, helped Glenda Jackson, secretly the pirate Black Johnson, shanghai the cast and take over the Muppet Theater in Season 5 and trying to eat Cloris Leachman on a desert island in Season . One of Sweetums' more prominent roles was in The Muppet Movie, where he worked as a jack (not name, job) for Mad Man Mooney's used car lot. When Kermit offers to bring Sweetums to Hollywood with him, the monster runs off and Kermit and the gang leave. Sweetums run backs moments later holding his suitcase shouting, "Wait! I wanna go to Hollywood!" This scene was replicated in last year's The Muppets. Sweetums has been a prominent figure in the Muppet gang for many years.

• UNCLE DEADLY
• Primarily performed by JERRY NELSON (1976-1979) and MATT VOGEL (2011-present)
• Uncle Deadly, with his tattered clothes and blue, dragon-like figure, is probably one of the creepiest looking Muppets to emerge from The Muppet Show. In Season 1 of the show, when Uncle Deadly was introduced in the episode guest starring Twiggy, he was revealed to be a phantom haunting the Muppet Theater who had died onstage after the audience tore apart his performance. A semi-recurring character after this, Uncle Deadly would sing with Ethel Mermann, play cohort to Vincent Price, perform the song "Sheik of Araby," and star in the Muppet Melodrama series alongside Miss Piggy and Wayne. After Season 3, Uncle Deadly was silenced on the show and phased out almost completely. He did not reemerge from obscurity until last year, when he played a crucial role in The Muppets as the main henchman of Chris Cooper's villainous Tex Richman. Hopefully this is just the beginning of Uncle Deadly's return to prominence, as he is one of the most unique (in both personality and appearance) Muppet monsters in the entire repertoire. 

• THOG
• Primarily performed by JERRY NELSON (1970-1981)
•  Thog is one of the biggest Muppets ever built for any production. He was originally one of the stars of the 1970 television special The Great Santa Claus Switch alongside his green counterpart Thig. Thog went on to be a big (pun intended) part of The Muppet Show, appearing with many guest stars in the first and second seasons and performing in the theme song in every episode after Season 1. After The Muppet Show, however, Thog disappeared almost entirely. Like Uncle Deadly, Thog was resurrected for The Muppets last year and quickly became a favorite with moviegoers simply because of his massive size, even though he only appeared onscreen for a short amount of time. Only time will tell if we will continue to see Thog in future Muppet projects.

• DOGLION
• Primarily performed by VARIOUS (1976-1996)
• Another of the large, full-bodied Muppet monsters, Doglion was a tertiary player on The Muppet Show from Season 2 to Season 4. Oddly enough, Doglion never had a primary performer and was traded among the core Muppet performers nearly every time he appeared onscreen. Doglion holds a very notable place in the Muppet universe as being the very first Muppet to appear on the big screen. In The Muppet Movie Doglion can be seen in the opening shot of the film at World Wide Studios moving some props. Doglion was last seen performing with Paula Abdul on Muppets Tonight.  

• BEAUTIFUL DAY MONSTER
• Primarily performed by VARIOUS (1969-present)
• Beautiful Day Monster is an interesting Muppet for many reasons. He got his start on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1969, but went on to appear semi-prominently on both Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, making him the only Muppet besides Kermit (and various Sesame characters who visited The Muppet Show, if you count them) to crossover between the two. The monster is perhaps best known for his sketch on The Muppet Show with Paul Williams where he continually asked, "Got anything cheaper?" and for the sketch on The Ed Sullivan Show where he tried to ruin a little girl's beautiful day. Beautiful Day Monster faded away after The Muppet Show, only appearing briefly in The Jim Henson Hour and on The Cosby Show. He returned in The Muppets last year and even sang a line in the finale reprise of "Life's a Happy Song."

• LUNCHEON COUNTER MONSTER
• Primarily performed by VARIOUS (1977-present)
• Although not widely recognized, Luncheon Counter Monster (who got his name from a sketch on The Muppet Show where he ate everything put on a lunch counter visited by guest star Nancy Walker) is one of the most-used Muppet monsters. He has appeared in everything from The Muppet Show to the Muppet Meeting Films to A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa all the way up to last year's The Muppets. Throughout all of this, Luncheon Counter Monster has never had a consistent performer--as was the case with many tertiary, "utility" Muppet monsters. But with one of the most unique designs Luncheon Counter Monster has remained a consistent presence in Muppet projects since The Muppet Show.   

• DROOP
• Primarily performed by JERRY NELSON (1971-1996)
• Droop was introduced as a character called Snivelly in the 1970 television special The Great Santa Claus Switch. When he next appeared in the pilot The Muppet Valentine Show in 1974, Droop was one of the main characters. This main status did not carry over to The Muppet Show for Droop, unfortunately, but he was featured in numerous sketches. One notable sketch he appeared in was the "Imagination" song with Ben Vereen in Season 1. Droop would go on to appear in every season of The Muppet Show and every Muppet film except Muppets From Space. He got to make a joke about a key grip in the "Scratching the Surface" bonus feature on The Muppets Blu-ray in 2012.  

• BEHEMOTH
• Primarily performed by VARIOUS (1976-present)
• Behemoth is a very simple looking monster with a massively gaping mouth, giving him a very distinctive look. Although he only appeared in five episodes in three seasons of The Muppet Show, Behemoth managed to make a striking impression on Muppet fans. So much so that, after not being seen since an episode of Muppets Tonight in 1996, Behemoth was brought back for The Muppets in 2011, getting a hysterical line about Jack Black's teeth in the film and appearing in multiple promotional spots, sometimes being called Gene, perhaps named after performer Bill Barretta's brother Gene.  

• BIG MEAN CARL
• Primarily performed by BILL BARRETTA (1996-present)
• Big Mean Carl is the newest monster to be accepted into the core group of Muppet monsters. He first appeared in 1992 in the Muppet Meeting Films where he was performed by Dave Goelz and called "Chairman Budget." However, once Bill Barretta took hold of the character in 1996 he became Big Mean Carl and developed his overbearing personality. Carl would try to fit any entertainment need, becoming Carl the Big Mean Bunny, Carl the Big Mean Ventriloquist, Carl the Big Mean Bagpipe Eater, and numerous other incarnations. He was most prominent in the sketch on the show called "Swift Wits," where he would eat an adorable animal contestant after the idiotic game show contestant failed to answer the question. Carl remained in obscurity until 2008 when he appeared in the "Bohemian Rhapsody" video and A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa. Carl starred in his own viral video, "Stand By Me," in 2010 and returned for The Muppets in 2011.   

• FRACKLES
• Various character primarily performed by VARIOUS performers (1970-present)
• The Frackles are a group of Muppet monster characters first introduced in The Great Santa Claus Switch in 1970. This eclectic and creepy group of monsters includes Boppity (Blue Frackle), Gloat (Green Frackle), Snake Frackle, Mo Frackle, J.G. (Dark Green Frackle), at one point Gonzo and Droop, and various others of all shapes and colors. These Muppets are crucial in background roles on The Muppet Show and Muppet movies. Many Frackles were used in last year's The Muppets.    

Well class, that's all the time we have for today. Come back next week when there might be a quiz (if I can piece together the paper shreds after Hugh the janitor got to them) and hopefully the door will be unlocked! Until then... keep being spooooooky!






The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

(Kind of) Weekly Muppet Quotes Spotlight: Sweetums

Casey Daron - Hi everyone! Unfortunately, my expedition to find Super Penguin was taken to a halt after I developed a rare case of Anarctican Cluckitis. On top of that, an abominable snow monster kicked me all the way back to the U.S. Man, I still have bruises! Anyways, that abominable snow monster reminded me of everyone's favorite monster pal, Sweetums. Although he had some rough times with Robin, (*cough* The Frog Prince *cough*) they eventually became best friends. So enjoy these quotes! Now I'm off to find the ancient Monster Chicken!

"SWEETUMS EAT FROGGY NOW!"
~ Sweetums, The Frog Prince

"Jack not name! Jack job!"
~ Sweetums, The Muppet Movie

"Hey! Hey, where’re you going? Hey! Wait for me! I wanna go to Hollywood! Wait, please! I wanna go to Hollywood!!"
~ Sweetums, The Muppet Movie

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be fighting against us?"
"Are you kidding?! I LOVE you guys!"
~ Captain Abraham Smollett (Kermit) and Sweetums, Muppet Treasure Island

"Ya wanna give us money?!"
~ Sweetums, The Muppets

"Excuse me Mr. Price, can I give you a hand? (takes off hand)"
~ Sweetums, The Muppet Show: Episode 119

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Muppetology 101: Recasting of Muppet Show Characters, Pt. 3

Ryan Dosier - Welcome back to class, class! We're continuing our series on the recasting of characters from The Muppet Show. Today we're looking at the characters of Richard Hunt, who died far too soon in 1992 after 25 years of performing and bringing joy to countless people. Richard's characters were some of the most genuine and personal characters ever to appear on The Muppet Show. Each of Richard's characters had an engrained aspect of Richard channeled through them, which made them that much harder to recast. In fact, his main character on The Muppet Show wasn't permanently recast for almost 20 years after Richard's passing. Since 2008, however, all of Richard's recurring Muppet Show characters have found permanent performers and excellent recasts.

• SCOOTER 
• Originally performed by RICHARD HUNT (1976-1990)
• Currently performed by DAVID RUDMAN (2008-present)
• Scooter was the alter ego of Richard Hunt on The Muppet Show; young, naive, wicked sense of humor, Scooter channeled Richard just as Richard channeled Scooter. This very personal connection to the character is what made it so difficult for the character to even return on the screen, let alone find a new permanent performer. Scooter didn't return to a Muppet production for eight years after Richard's death, in Muppets From Space in 1999, where he was performed by Richard's brother, Adam Hunt for the first and only time. Matt Vogel did Scooter's voice for the Muppets Race Mania video game in 2001, while Brian Henson took on the character for a small return to his go-fer role in 2002 in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. Rickey Boyd gave a great performance as Scooter in his secondary role in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz in 2005. When Disney began to pursue a Muppet renaissance in 2008, David Rudman, a close friend of Richard Hunt's, was chosen to perform Scooter permanently. David's Scooter has both the voice and personality of Richard's and is a true testament to how close David and Richard were.
• Richard Hunt first performed Scooter in the first episode of The Muppet Show Season One and continued to be the only performer of Scooter through The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson in November 1990, plus Scooter's major role in the Muppet*Vision 3-D pre-show, filmed in 1990.
• David Rudman first performed Scooter in Studio DC: Almost Live! Hosted by Selena Gomez in 2008 and continues to perform Scooter currently, including Scooter's return to prominence in The Muppets in 2011.

• BEAKER
• Originally performed by RICHARD HUNT (1977-1991)
• Currently performed by STEVE WHITMIRE (1992-present)
• Due to his popularity, Beaker was one of the first of Richard Hunt's characters to be recast after his death. Steve Whitmire began performing Beaker in 1992, first in The Muppet Christmas Carol, alongside Dave Goelz's Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. Steve would discover that Richard would inhale when he made Beaker's famous "mee-mee" sounds, rather than exhale, which made the recast transition near perfect. Steve performed Beaker through a string of YouTube video hits including "Ode to Joy," "Beaker's Ballad," "Habanera," and more throughout 2008 and 2009.
• Richard Hunt first performed Beaker in The Muppet Show Season Two: Episode 202 with Zero Mostel in 1977. Richard's final performance as Beaker was for Muppet*Vision 3-D which opened in 1991 and was filmed in 1990.
• Steve Whitmire first performed Beaker in The Muppet Christmas Carol in 1992 and continues to be the sole performer of Beaker, including his major star-turns in YouTube videos and his role in The Muppets in 2011.

• STATLER

• Originally performed by RICHARD HUNT (1976-1991) 
• Performed by JERRY NELSON (1975; 1992-2002)
• Currently performed by STEVE WHITMIRE (2002-present)
• Statler, one of the old hecklers in the balcony on The Muppet Show was performed by Jerry Nelson in his first appearance in The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence in 1975. Jerry was drafted into the army before Season One of the show so the heckler character was given to Richard Hunt to perform alongside Jim Henson as Waldorf. When Richard died in 1991, it was only fitting that his close friend Jerry Nelson take on the character that he originated. Starting with The Muppet Christmas Carol in 1992, Jerry would perform Statler until his retirement from the Muppets in 2002. Due to health reasons, Statler was puppeteered by Steve Whitmire in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie in 2002, with Jerry dubbing the dialogue later. Steve Whitmire was then given the character to make his own later in 2002. He has continued to perform Statler almost exclusively (except for the later episodes of From the Balcony where Statler was performed by Drew Massey) for a decade now.
• Richard Hunt first performed Statler in The Muppet Show Season One in 1976. Richard performed Statler alongside Jim Henson's Waldorf until Muppet*Vision 3-D in 1991.
• Jerry Nelson first performed Statler in The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence pilot in 1975, but could not perform the character for the beginning of Season One of The Muppet Show so the character was given to Richard Hunt. Jerry became Statler again in The Muppet Christmas Carol in 1992 alongside Dave Goelz's Waldorf and performed him until his retirement after It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie in 2002.
• Steve Whitmire first performed and voiced Statler in Weezer's 2002 music video with the Muppets, "Keep Fishin'." Steve continues to perform Statler in every production, including The Muppets in 2011.

• JANICE

• Originally performed by ERIN OZKER (1976-1977)
• Performed by RICHARD HUNT (1977-1990)
• Currently performed by DAVID RUDMAN (2008-present)
• Janice, the lead guitar player for Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, was also not originally performed by Richard Hunt. Erin Ozker, one of the only female Muppet Show performers, performed Janice in the first season. When Season Two came along and Erin Ozker left the show, Richard Hunt was given Janice so that every main Muppeteer had a character in the Electric Mayhem. Janice remained silent for over a decade after Richard's death, until Matt Vogel did the voice for Janice in the 2001 video game Muppet Race Mania. Janice didn't speak again in puppet form until she was performed by Brian Henson in 2002's It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. Like Scooter, Janice was not permanently recast until Studio DC: Almost Live! in 2008, where once again David Rudman was chose to take over.
• Erin Ozker performed Janice in The Muppet Show Season One in 1976 until she left the Muppets in 1977.
• Richard Hunt first performed Janice and made the character truly his own in The Muppet Show Season Two in 1977. Richard's final performances as Janice were in The Muppets at Walt Disney World and The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson in 1990.
• David Rudman first performed Janice in Studio DC: Almost Live! Hosted by Dylan and Cole Sprouse in 2008. David continues to perform Janice with the rest of the Electric Mayhem, including their return in The Muppets in 2011.

• SWEETUMS
• Originally performed by RICHARD HUNT (1976-1991)
• Performed by JOHN HENSON (1996-2005)
• Currently performed by MATT VOGEL (2009-present)
• Sweetums was one of the only full-bodied Muppets performed by Richard Hunt. Richard gave Sweetums a lovable but gruff attitude with his voice and mannerisms throughout the run of The Muppet Show and in The Muppet Movie. Sweetums took a five year hiatus after Richard's death, until Jim Henson's son John Henson took over the character starting in Muppet Treasure Island in 1996. John Henson made many appearances as Sweetums for almost ten years until The Muppets' Wizard of Oz in 2005. The next permanent performer to take on Sweetums became Matt Vogel in 2009. Matt has performed the character since then in various appearances.
• Richart Hunt first performed Sweetums in The Muppet Show Season One in 1976. He continued to both operate and voice Sweetums until 1991, when he performed only Sweetums' voice in Muppet*Vision 3-D due to his deteriorating health.
• John Henson performed Sweetums starting in Muppet Treasure Island in 1996, doing both the voice and body work. John continued to perform Sweetums, one of the only characters he performed, until The Muppets' Wizard of Oz in 2005.
• Matt Vogel first performed Sweetums in the "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." promotions in 2009. He first did both Sweetums' body and voice in "The Muppet Show Theme Song" music video with OK Go in 2011 and continued to perform Sweetums in The Muppets in 2011.

Well, that's class! I promise that quiz is coming eventually... I've just got to buy a printer. And ink. And a computer. Yeah... we're not having a quiz. Never mind.

See you next week when we'll cover the recasts of Jerry Nelson's characters!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com

The Muppet Super Bowl

SUPER BOWL XLVI

NEW YORK GIANTS VS. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

We asked the Muppets who they would pick as Super Bowl winners tonight... most of them had no idea we were talking about a football game (the Swedish Chef thought it was a choice between soup or bowl, Gonzo thought it was some sort of stunt involving a giant bowl of tapioca and a cape), some of them didn't really care either way (Miss Piggy was conflicted over the looks of Eli Manning and Tom Brady, Rowlf just wanted to watch the commercials), and some were just bitter about the fact that their favorite sports couldn't reach mainstream popularity (competitive boomerang fish throwing, alligator wrestling, bad joke telling). However, there were two who had a distinct opinion about the game... Sweetums is pulling for the New York Giants because any press for giants is good press, and Sam the Eagle is rooting for the New England Patriots because all patriots should be winners in America.

I think I'll side with Sweetums. He's bigger.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com

Weekly Muppet Wednesdays: Sweetums

Written by Ryan Dosier.

SWEETUMS

Performed by...
Richard Hunt (1976-1991)
Matt Vogel (2009-present)
John Henson (1996-2005)

First appearance...
The Frog Prince (1971)

Most recent appearance...
Muppets Most Wanted (2014)

Best known role...
Big fella with a big heart. Also worked as car-jack ("Jack not name, jack job!").

Famous quote...
"I just knew I'd catch up with you guys!"

Best friend...
Robin the Frog

WHO IS SWEETUMS?
Sweetums is the somewhat-gentle giant of the Muppets. He is a large, hairy beast who seems to have a bigger heart than his outward appearance would let on. He has proven on more than one occasion that he is more of a friend to the Muppets than a figure to fear. A perfect example of this is his friendship with Robin the Frog. The two are often seen as a duo (since their performance of "Two Lost Souls" on The Muppet Show) even though they are incredibly different.

Sweetums isn't without his rough streak, however. He was involved in many sketches on The Muppet Show where he played the angry monster with guest stars such as Ruth Buzzi and Teresa Brewer. More often than not, however, Sweetums is helpful and rather kind, not angry and frightening.

The hulking monster has appeared in each of the Muppet movies except The Muppets Take Manhattan and The Muppet Christmas Carol. His most famous role in a feature film is probably in The Muppet Movie where he chases Kermit and the gang after they neglect to take him with them to Hollywood. The lucky monster gets to have a run-in with scantily clad beauty pageant girls, however, so it wasn't a total loss.

In Muppet Treasure Island, Sweetums was a pirate on the side of Long John Silver, until he later reformed his ways and turned over to the good side of Kermit/Captain Smollet saying, "Are you kiddin'? I love you guys!"

Another of Sweetums' more famous appearances comes in Muppet*Vision 3D at the Disney Parks. In the 3D show, Sweetums appears both on and off-screen, employing the use of a paddleball for a "cheap 3D trick" and appearing live searching for Bean Bunny and dousing the penguin orchestra with a bucket of water.

Sweetums continues to be a fan-favorite character and has consistently appeared in most of the major new Muppet productions such as A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa and the Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. promotions.

SWEETUMS AND RICHARD HUNT
Sweetums was one of the only full-body Muppet characters performed by Richard Hunt, and undoubtedly one of Richard's more popular characters. One of the most iconic photos of Richard is of him reading a newspaper while wearing the legs of Sweetums backstage on the set of The Muppet Show.

NOTABLE SWEETUMS APPEARANCES

• The Frog Prince (1975)
• Performing "They Can't Take That Away From Me" with Nancy Walker on The Muppet Show (Episode 206)
• Performing "Two Lost Souls" with Robin the Frog on The Muppet Show (Episode 223)
• With Milton Berle in The Muppet Movie
• Popping out of a manhole in The Great Muppet Caper
• In Muppet*Vision 3D
• As a pirate in Muppet Treasure Island
• As a Flying Monkey in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz

WHY DO THE MUPPETS NEED SWEETUMS?
Sweetums is a core part of the Muppet cast because he towers over them so much. He is truly a giant in the group and he adds to the fun of the character variation. Sweetums is also one of the few Muppet Monsters remaining in Muppet projects and those are key to any Muppet production.

Sweetums deserves the fame and fan-favorite status he has received because he is such a fun character. He looks scary on the outside but is really a kind monster. The Muppets need Sweetums because he can do heavy lifting, a tap number, and chase a car, but at the end of the day he'll always be loyal and friendly.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com